What it is all about
by Deezaster82
Summary: ( G1 ) Seekers have their own customs and culture, but it seems the war has taken something away from them. Thundercracker discovers a rather disturbing secret about his closest friend. Now he wants to understand what it is all about. Eventual TC/SW/SS. warnings insides.
1. Introduction

Important note.

Obligatory disclaimer: Hasbro's. Not mine. There, done.

First of all, Thank you for reading. I hope you will enjoy this story.

And here come the warnings:

This story will contain mature content of the sexual nature.

As you can see, the first chapter has been posted twice.

It hasn't been done by mistake. Those are different versions of the same chapter:

Chapter 1 (s) has sticky content.

Chapter 1 (ns) has non-sticky content ( sparksex)

I don't know if I will do this for every chapter. I would like to have your opinion about it, thank you.

Good reading!


	2. Ch1: Shock (s)

Note on the time measurement:

One breem: 8 minutes.

One orn: more or less one day

One groon: more or less one hour.

Klik: a few seconds

Decacycle: more or less one week

Megacycle: more or less one month

Vorn: 83 years

Solar cycle: one year.

Chapter 1.

Thundercracker sighed. It was awful how fast orns passed lately and now it was already time for the blue seeker to head for the control room where his shift would begin in less than a breem.

_What did I do this orn?_ He wondered for himself. It had passed too fast and too slowly at the the same time. It all started with him waking up, as usual, from a nice dream about the war being over, him back to Cybertron and settling back into a life he had lost too long ago.

He hadn't even had the chance to finish that dream too, his chronometer had woken him up before that, making him start his orn in a not-so-good mood.

Then what? Another boring orn in that boring base that was the sunken 'Victory' Decepticon ship. Trying to forget they were buried under tons of water had become part of the routine, something he thought about less and less with time, which was a relief, as meager as it was.

He had assisted to the obligatory daily officers meeting and half-listened to Megatron's speech of the orn, empty words about a victory they should have had millions of years ago, but that no one could see coming anytime soon. Often, Thundercracker wondered if Megatron himself still believed in his own speeches.

He had never believed in the warlord. Back in the time he had signed up for the Decepticons, his choices had been either that or die of hunger. Hopefully, no one was aware of his lack of enthusiasm, he never shared his mistrust of the Decepticon cause with anyone anyway, not even with Skywarp. Now and then, he might have made a comment about his disapproval of Megatron's ways, but no one had ever seemed to pay attention to him.

He was too much of a background mech to stand out in the masses.

For the rest of the orn, he had just remained in stand-by, waiting for 'further instructions' that never came and this, until the time was up for refuel. Then, he had just had the time to take a small nap before his appointed night shift.

It had been weeks since the last raid. Nothing would be planned as long as their Energon reserves were high enough. The Decepticons had settled in minimal activity mode and life had become downright boring these orns.

Thundercracker grabbed a cube on his way out and bid Skywarp, his friend with whom he shared quarters, a good night of recharge.

He was so bored he wished for an autobot attack or anything that could have made his life less of a dull routine.

He wished he had less time on his hands to think and be aware of himself. Something was off with him, he could feel it but couldn't describe it. His spark felt weird, hollow, It was like something was missing, something more than action. It was a strange craving that had nothing to do with energon. At first, he thought it was just boredom, but then the glitch had persisted to the point he had decided to see Hook about it.

The medic had updated his anti-virus and upgraded his firewalls but had found nothing out of the ordinary.

„ Don't worry, seeker" He had told him. „ A daily flight should keep you sane enough."

He had followed his advice, but the Glitch was still there.

Maybe Hook wasn't as competent as he was told to be after all. Thundercracker hoped that this glitch, whatever it was, wouldn't prove fatal some orn.

He rubbed his chest absently, it usually made him feel better for some time, and sipped his energon cube as he entered the command center.

Megatron and Soundwave were still there as well as Thrust, the officer in charge for the shift.

The blue seeker nodded his greeting at his superiors and went to stand behind the conehead seeker, waiting for him to give him the usual shift handover report. But Megatron stopped him.

„ Changes have been made to the shift schedule, Thundercracker" the leader informed him. „ From now on, you will switch shift with Dirge."

On cue, said seeker entered the command center, looking visibly unhappy about it. Poor mech probably resented their leader for the four groons of recharge he wouldn't have that night.

„ I am to take the second shift then?" He asked Megatron, only to be sure there wasn't any misunderstanding. He wouldn't want to provoke the warlord ire; he wasn't as fond of pain as their air commander was.

„ That is correct." Megatron informed him with annoyance. „ Consider yourself dismissed until the fourth groon of the orn if that isn't obvious enough for you to understand."

Thundercracker bowed lightly and promptly left the place. He would certainly not protest at the prospect to go back to berth. It was like a bad morning wish come true.

He went back to his room, then, walking as quickly as he could.

He keyed the code to his and Skywap's quarters, the door slid open and, as the room ceased to be sound proof, weird noises immediately assaulted his audios.

He frowned, fearing this was yet another of his wingmate's stupid prank gone haywire. Were those moans? And not anymech's too.

He cautiously walked to the berthroom, not wanting to be caught in a prank if a prank there was. The door was open, there was light inside and the cries didn't seem to want to stop.

His fears were confirmed as he stepped inside; Starscream was in there, moaning and occasionally screaming with that awful voice of his. Skywarp was with him and it didn't take long for Thundercracker to understand what was happening.

Skywarp wasn't up to his usual malice, it was much worse.

Their trine leader was on the berth, his hands gripping and fondling Skywarp's quivering wings as the black seeker moved over him, his hips jerking in slow thrusts in between Starscream's open thighs.

Thundercracker could see lubricants glistering beneath them and, sometimes, when Skywarp lifted his hips high enough, the blue seeker was able to see his spike slide out of the air commander's little valve.

He remained on his spot, a mere step inside of the room. At first, he was too shocked to move, cycle an intake or take his optics away from the scene.

But then, the glitch in his circuit made itself known, stronger than ever, and he realized he shouldn't be there, shouldn't be watching this.

Thankfully, they were yet to notice his presence.

He stepped back without turning around, keeping his optics on the mesmerizing sight his beautiful wingmates offered.

He escaped, running away from something he could no longer bear to witness. He needed to find a safe place to hide and do what the glitch wanted him to do.

Thundercracker ran toward the lower deck and locked himself in the first empty room he found.

There, he quickly removed his interface cover and, with trembling hands, jerked himself to overload.

As he did so, he imagined Starscream beneath him, looking just like he had looked on the berth with Skywarp, devoid of the haughty attitude he always displayed and looking so open and seductive with no smirk or sneer to tarnish his handsome face, only pure bliss.

He tried to imagine how Skywarp would be like in the same situation and overload hit him with the force of thousand sonic booms.

When that was done and the last remnants of pleasure had faded away, he suddenly felt self-conscious.

_Slag! _He cursed through gritted teeth. There was transfluid on his hands and on the floor, he was in a dark, dirty room, alone, and his glitch had subsequently calmed down. So this was what he had been craving? Such low protoformal(*) acts?

It was hard to admit, he was a warrior, he shouldn't think about that kind of things. Inaction had obviously driven him out of his programming.

_I have never been programmed for warfare. _He reminded himself. _I never wished so._

He was a mech like any other mech, he was more than a drone. He had desires and feelings, such cravings were bound to happen. Thundercracker admitted to that, but it still hurt.

It still hurt to think that he was there, self-servicing while his wingmates had each other to ease the craving- or was there something else going on between them? The blue seeker dismissed the idea immediately, it was too nonsensical. Starscream loved no one but himself and Skywarp was no sentimental.

Still, there was at least that something going on between them and Thundercracker felt left out. To the question as to whether he'd want to do that kind of things with any of the two came a very disturbingly clear answer. Yes.

Skywarp would probably be easier to approach than their Air commander.

But there was a wide cliff between what Thundercracker wanted and what he could really do. Thundercracker pictured himself in the situation and tried to think about how he would proceed if he wanted to turn fantasy into reality.

And he was at loss for idea.

He picked himself up and cleaned as much of the evidences of the act as he could before exiting the storage room.

He decided to forget it for the time being. Obviously, there was nothing he could do other than hope the glitch would leave him in peace for some times. He had wasted enough of it like this and still needed to find a place to recharge before his shift started.

TBC

(*) 'Carnal act' seemed not really suitable for giant robots. So I thought the word 'protoformal' would better fit the idea.

May I have your thoughts on this, folks? Idea and constructive critiques are welcome too.


	3. Ch1: Shock (ns)

Thundercracker sighed. It was awful how fast orns passed lately and now it was already time for the blue seeker to head for the control room where his shift would begin in less than a breem.

_What did I do this orn?_ He wondered for himself. It had passed too fast and too slowly at the the same time. It all started with him waking up, as usual, from a nice dream about the war being over, him back to Cybertron and settling back into a life he had lost too long ago.

He hadn't even had the chance to finish that dream too, his chronometer had woken him up before that, making him start his orn in a not-so-good mood.

Then what? Another boring orn in that boring base that was the sunken 'Victory' Decepticon ship. Trying to forget they were buried under tons of water had become part of the routine, something he thought about less and less with time, which was a relief, so meager as it was.

He had assisted to the obligatory officers meeting and half-listened to Megatron's speech of the orn, empty words about a victory they should have had millions of years ago, but that no one could see coming anytime soon. Often, Thundercracker wondered if Megatron himself still believed in his own speeches.

He had never believed in the warlord. Back in the time he had signed up for the Decepticons, his choices had been either that or die of hunger. Hopefully, no one was aware of his lack of enthusiasm, he never shared his mistrust of the Decepticon cause with anyone anyway, not even with Skywarp. Now and then, he might have made a comment about his disapproval of Megatron's ways, but no one had ever seemed to pay attention to him.

He was too much of a background mech to stand out in the masses.

For the rest of the orn, he had just remained in stand-by, waiting for 'further instructions' that never came and this, until the time was up for refuel. Then, he had had just the time to take a small nap before his appointed night shift.

It had been weeks since the last raid. Nothing would be planned as long as their Energon reserves were high enough. The Decepticons had settled in minimal activity mode and life had become downright boring these orns.

Thundercracker grabbed a cube on his way out and bid Skywarp, his friend with whom he shared quarters, a good night of recharge.

He was so bored he wished for an Autobot attack or anything that could have made his life less of a dull routine.

He wished he had less time on his hands to think and be aware of himself. Something was off with him, he could feel it but couldn't describe it. His spark felt weird, hollow, It was like something was missing, something more than action. It was a strange craving that had nothing to do with energon. At first, he thought it was just boredness, but then the glitch had persisted to the point he had decided to see Hook about it.

The medic had updated his anti-virus and upgraded his firewalls but had found nothing out of the ordinary.

„ Don't worry, seeker" He had told him. „ A daily flight should keep you sane enough."

He had followed his advice, but the Glitch was still there.

Maybe Hook wasn't as competent as he was told to be after all. Thundercracker hoped that this glitch, whatever it was, wouldn't prove fatal some orn.

He rubbed his chest absently, it usually made him feel better for some time, and sipped his energon cube as he entered the command center.

Megatron and Soundwave were still there as well as Thrust, the officer in charge for the shift.

The blue seeker nodded his greeting at his superiors and went to stand behind the conehead seeker, waiting for him to give him the usual shift handover report. But Megatron stopped him.

„ Changes have been made to the shift schedule, Thundercracker" the leader informed him. „ From now on, you will switch shift with Dirge."

On cue, said seeker entered the command center, looking visibly unhappy about it. Poor mech probably ressented their leader for the four groons of recharge he wouldn't have that night.

„ I am to take the second shift then?" He asked Megatron, only to be sure there wasn't any misunderstanding. He wouldn't want to provoke the warlord ire, it wasn't as fond of pain as their air commander was.

„ That is correct." Megatron informed him with annoyance. „ Consider yourself dismissed until the fourth groon if that isn't obvious enough for you to understand."

Thundercracker bowed lightly and promptly left the place. He would certainly not protest at the prospect to go back to berth. It was like a bad morning wish come true.

He went back to his room, then, walking as quickly as he could.

He keyed the code to his and Skywap's quarters, the door slid open and, as the room ceased to be sound proof, weird noises immediately assaulted his audios.

He frowned, fearing this was yet another of his wingmate's stupid prank gone haywire. Were those moans? And not anymech's too.

He cautiously walked to the berthroom, not wanting to be caught in a prank if a prank there was. The door was open, there was light inside and the cries didn't seem to want to stop.

His fears were confirmed as he stepped inside; Starscream was in there, moaning and occasionally screaming with that awful voice of his. Skywarp was with him and it didn't take long for Thundercracker to understand what was happening.

Skywarp wasn't up to his usual malice, it was much worse.

Their trine leader was on the berth, his hands gripping and fondling Skywarp's quivering wings as the black seeker moved slightly over him. A bright golden light shone between their chest.

Thundercracker could see pieces of their armor and their cockpit put aside near the berth and, when Skywarp arched, the blue seeker was able to see their partially merged sparks and Starscream's pleasured face reflecting their light.

They hadn't noticed his presence. He remained on his spot, a few steps in the room. At first, he was too shocked to move, cycle an intake or take his optics away from the scene.

But then, the glitch in his circuit made itself known, stronger than ever, and he realized he shouldn't be there, shouldn't be watching this.

He stepped back without turning around, keeping his optics on the mesmerizing sight his beautiful wingmates offered.

He escaped, running away from something he could no longer bear to witness. He needed to find a safe place to hide and do what the glitch wanted him to do.

Thundercracker ran toward the lower deck and locked himself in the first empty room he found.

There, he mapped his own body with trembling hands to find the catches to his cockpit and stroked his spark casing until he overloaded.

As he did so, he imagined Starscream beneath him, looking just like he had looked on the berth with Skywarp, devoid of the haughty attitude he always displayed and looking so open and seductive with no smirk or sneer to tarnish his handsome face, only pure bliss.

He tried to imagine how Skywarp would be like in the same situation and overload hit him with the force of thousand sonic booms.

When that was done and the last remnants of pleasure had faded away, he suddenly felt self-conscious.

_Slag! _He cursed through gritted teeth. He was alone in a dark, dirty room, alone, and his glitch had subsequently calmed down. So this was what he had been craving? Such low protoformal(*) acts?

It was hard to admit, he was a warrior, he shouldn't think about that kind of things. Inaction had obviously driven him out of his programming.

_I have never been programmed for warfare. _He reminded himself. _I never wished so._

He was a mech like any other mech, he was more than a drone. He had desires and feelings, such cravings were bound to happen. Thundercracker admitted to that, but it still hurt.

It still hurt to think that he was there, self-servicing while his wingmates had each other to ease the craving- or was there something else going on between them? The blue seeker dismissed the idea immediately, it was too nonsensical. Starscream loved no one but himself and Skywarp was no sentimental.

Still, there was at least that something going on between them and Thundercracker felt left out. To the question as to whether he'd want to do that kind of things with any of the two came a very cleat and positive answer. Yes.

Skywarp would probably be easier to approach than their Air commander.

But there was a wide cliff between what Thundercracker wanted and what he could really do. Thundercracker pictured himself in the situation and tried to think about how he would proceed if he wanted to turn fantasy into reality.

And he was at loss for idea.

He picked himself up and dusted his armor before exiting the storage room.

He decided to forget it for the time being. Obviously, there was nothing he could do other than hope the glitch would leave him in peace for some times. He still needed to find a place to recharge before his shift started.

TBC

May I have your thoughts on this, folks? Ideas and constructive critiques are welcome too.


	4. Ch2: Confusion

Note on the time measurement:

One breem: 8 minutes.

One orn: more or less one day

One groon: more or less one hour.

Klik: a few seconds

Decacycle: more or less one week

Megacycle: more or less one month

Vorn: 83 years

Solar cycle: one year.

Chapter 2

Thundercracker barely recharged before his shift.

It wasn't that the unoccupied room he had found to rest for a few groons in wasn't comfortable. It really wasn't comfortable, but such minor details had never bothered him. He was still too shocked by what he had seen to find sleep.

Pit, he didn't even know how to act around his wing mates anymore now that he knew what they were doing behind his back. He resented Skywarp for not having told him. They were friends, weren't friends supposed to share that sort of things?

Also, he wondered why Skywarp had chosen Starscream of all mechs. What Starscream had that he, himself, didn't have?

Thundercracker had always liked to believe that Skywarp and him were closer than Starscream could ever be to any of them within the 'trine'. The red seeker had kept the distance growing between them ever since they had met.

How many time had Skywarp and himself made fun of their Air commander? How many time had they mocked the arrogant glitch together? He couldn't help but think it was unfair!

Alright, the screamer was pretty, but he was their second-in-command and wasn't exactly easy to approach. His attitude was awful most of the time ( the rest of the time he was either absent or in recharge)

Yet Skywarp didn't seem to mind this anymore. To Thundercracker, it simply made no sense.

Was Starscream manipulating his friend into helping him with another of his infamous takeover attempts? That was unlikely. Everyone in the army knew that Skywarp was loyal to Megatron and wouldn't betray their leader, certainly not for a sexy piece of aft.

Obviously, there was far more to that, and the blue seeker just wanted to know what and why.

Groons passed, he felt too miserable to recharge. The lone seeker went to his shift at the given time and Dirge, who seemed in a far better mood than when he had entered the control room groons earlier, turned toward the newcomer.

" Finally you are here!" The conehead exclaimed. " Mech, you look like slag!" he added, watching Thundercracker walk closer.

" Go away already" He replied grumpily with a movement of his head " that'll make me feel better." He almost wanted to pick a fight with the mech, that would relieve his mind greatly, if that wasn't for the explaining he would have to do afterward.

" I take no order from you, flathead!" Dirge retorted, not moving yet. " But I'd hate to waste my recharge time on you."

He then left the place and Thundercracker let himself slip onto the chair. Thoughts would plague his processor for groons on and probably orns on too. It was a good thing for the time being, the raging storm in his mind would at least keep him awake through his shift.

oOooOo

At first, Thundercracker had hesitated whether or not to relocate. But then Skywarp, as stupid as he was believed to be, would have suspected something and would have started to ask him questions.

The blue seeker didn't want him to know that he knew about his little secret.

It has been hard, but he had managed fairly well to do 'as if nothing had changed'.

Thankfully, Thundercracker didn't have to witness more of his wingmate and wing leader's activities. Skywarp wouldn't dare bring anyone in their quarters when Thundercracker was with him, but the blue seeker had woken up a few times during the night only to see that Skywarp wasn't in his bunk anymore.

He didn't wonder where he was. He knew.

The troubled seeker couldn't bring himself to talk with his friend, to tell him the truth and ask him 'why' or 'what'. He kept his mouth shut and his frustration bottled up.

He was still thinking about them most of the time though. That made him miserable not to know what they were up to. Worse of all, he felt ashamed to realize that he wanted in whatever it was they had. He wanted to have what Starscream and Skywarp had and he wanted to have it with them.

But what was wrong with him? After all, that sort of things had never crossed his mind before.

Thundercracker's spark ached in his chest and there was really nothing he could do about it.

Life went on, ten full orns passed and their energon stock slowly decreased.

Eventually, Megatron called for a war assembly. The warlord, along with his second and third in command locked themselves in the 'war room' with enough energon to last them orns and planned strategy around the clock for orns on.

No one saw the leaders during that time and most soldiers took it as a permission to slack on their duties.

" Hey TC!" Skywarp suddenly barged in the control room where Thundercracker was the officer on shift.

" Hey" He simply answered, not taking his optics off the screen. Skywarp heavily sat on the chair next to him. " Mech, everything is okay? You look...more grumpy than you usually are." the purple seeker asked. It wasn't the first time he had inquired of his friend mood during the past orns, but the blue seeker always answered the same 'I'm fine' and denied all accusations of it being otherwise.

" Yeah, I'm bored that's all. I almost miss the battlefield."

" Right! me too" Skywarp said, chuckling. " Can't wait!" but Skywarp loved being a warrior and it was only normal for him to miss mayhem and destruction.

" Well I think you won't have to wait for long." Thundercracker supplied, only then turning toward the other seeker. "The bosses have been in the war room for one orn and a half...They should come up with a plan soon enough."

" Awesome!" Skywarp said, all giddy-looking. He suddenly grabbed Thundercracker's forearm." Hey, you know what, TC? We should go for a flight until they are done! That'll make the time pass faster, yes? What do you say? We could go and scare humans planes, wouldn't that be cool?"

The blue seeker blinked and couldn't help feeling anger rise. He thought: _Right_! _so now that your boyfriend is not available, you want to spend time with me?_

" I'm on shift." He replied simply and quite coldly. " maybe later."

Skywarp's expression fell but he didn't let go of his friend's arm. " No one will care if you're not on shift. You're the only one who still takes shift anyway..."

" I don't care about what others do." He mumbled. " I sighed up for this, least I can do is do my job correctly."

" Why are you so boring, Thundercracker?!" Skywarp huffed. " You barely ever patrol with me and Screamer these orns. I'm starting to think you're mad at me or something...And I haven't pulled a single prank on you for at least a megacycle! What's going on with you? Seriously?"

Thundercracker wanted to stand up and shout at his friend that, yes, he was slagging mad at him for being such a fragging hypocrite. He wanted to grab him, slam him against the nearest wall and ask him what was going on with HIM for taking the Screamer to his berth, the same mech he had always called a 'jerk' and a 'glitch'.

He didn't have the occasion to do any of this though, because their comms. Suddenly crackled, Startling them both.

::Skywarp, Thundercracker, in my office, NOW:: Starscream's raspy voice came through.

He sounded irritated, which was only his second default mode. Their wing leader seemed to have only two default modes these orns: irritated or smug. Thundercracker could barely remember a time when the red seeker had been something else than a bastard.

Skywarp, who had noticed the glint of furry in Thundercracker's optics, just let go of his arm and looked at him sadly before answering the comm. ::coming::

::As you command:: was Thundercracker's more formal reply. They walked there together and Skywarp said nothing. The blue seeker, who had calmed down since his almost-outburst, thought fast. He needed to do something or say something before Skywarp could start suspecting things. He sighed and made a show of rubbing the back of his helmet sheepishly.

" I'm sorry, 'warp...I guess I've been edgy lately...But you know I don't cope well with inactivity. It makes me think too much I guess."

" Yeah...it's okay, don't worry." Skywarp gave him a small smile. " That will end soon and you'll feel better. Then you'll help me prank the Stunticons okay?"

" Er...I'm not too sure about that...But I'll patrol with you at least." he grinned but still felt wronged. The blue seeker hoped that this meeting with Starscream would give him some hints, to confirm or infirm his fears.

The Air commander was fuming when they arrived in his office. They were yet to sit down, Starscream had already started to rant about Megatron being a defective piece of machinery who could only come up with stupid, worthless, plans.

The usual speech from the screamer. Obviously the warlord hadn't wanted to hear his ideas during the top officers meeting and now Starscream had murder in mind.

" We are supposed to attack that refinery tomorrow at dawn...Doing it by night would have been the smart thing to do but our dear leader obviously doesn't know what 'smart' means..."

Thundercracker resisted the urge to sigh and filtered the useless elements out of the Air commander's rant. The plan was quite simple, they were to attack the refinery, destroy their communications- preferably before the humans could call the Autobots for help- then convert the oil into energon cubes and flow back to base. That was the standard Megatron's idea for a casual raid strategy and Thundercracker didn't see how it took them two full orns to spawn it.

While Starscream talked and ranted and fumed, the blue seeker looked at both him and Skywarp closely. The wing leader's gaze shifted from one attendee to the other quickly, too quickly to truly 'see' anyone. As for everyone attending, the conehead seekers, the triple-changers as well as Starscream's own trine mates, they all looked bored to the core.

Thundercracker was impressed by how well his purple friend played his part. He looked genuinely as bored as everyone else. And, for the most part, he didn't even look at Starscream.

In the past, Skywarp liked to relieve his boredom by counting how many time Starscream said ' Megatron' or 'leader' during this charade of a meeting. Was he still doing so nowadays?

Sure enough, as Starscream said " The glorious Megatron expect us to bring at least 200 cubes back to base", Thundercracker saw Skywarp's lips quirk upward as the name ' Megatron' was pronounced.

The raid, as expected, was no different from the many others that had preceded it.

It almost failed too, because the Autobots has showed up like they always do. It wasn't too bad at the end, because every Decepticon had been expecting them anyway and most were more than happy to finally have the occasion to fight.

Even Thundercracker.

It felt so good to be able to vent the frustration out, physically vent it out, he thought as he finally managed to shake Sideswipe off him. He went after the red Bot and caught him before he could use his jet-pack or crash down.

" What's the matter, Decepticon?" The lambo snickered. " You want more?"

" As a matter of fact!" The blue seeker answered calmly and transformed in his bi-pedal form. " I do. And then I'll take care of your vain twin, if no one has seen to that yet."

In the distance, the noise of a fusion cannon firing could be heard, which meant the infamous clash between both faction leaders had started and the battle had reached its final stage.

Thundercracker landed on the rocky floor, scorching it with the heat of his thrusters. Still holding the red front-liner by one of his foot, he swung him down on the ground, then he pulled him up only to slam him down again...and again. He put his frustration in the energy he used, hoping it could go away just like this." Do you want more?" he asked as he slammed the Autobot down. " Because I could never have enough!"

Pieces of red armor flew all over the place. Once Sideswipe stopped screaming in pain, Thundercracker decided to put him out of his misery. So, he tore the jet pack clear off his back, took flight and waited to be high enough to drop his charge.

The noise Sideswipe's body made when he crashed on the rock below was spectacular.

Skywarp looked up and realized what had just happened. " WOW! Way to go, TC" he shouted

At the same time, Starscream flew by, spotted the carnage and transformed. "Good Job, Thunder'" he praised, looking straight at his subordinate with an appreciative smirk.

Thundercracker touched down to inspect the fallen Autobot. He was still alive, yet barely. In the distance, they could hear Optimus prime call for a retreat.

The blue seeker lifted his head in time to see Sunstreaker charge toward him. " Move away from him, 'con! Or what I'll do to you will be far worse than what you did to him!"

The yellow lambo held his blaster up as he got closer. " Move away I say" he fired, his aim was good and hit home.

Thundercracker stepped back and looked at the pieces of his cockpit which remained where he had been before. He blacked out the next instant, crumbling on the spot. Sunstreaker hesitated just a klik but, thankfully, it was long enough for Starscream and Skywarp to pull their trine mate away from his line of fire.

OOoooOO

The first thing Thundercracker become aware of next was Hook's mocking voice somewhere near him" You are a lucky bastard".

That's for me to know and for you to never find out. He thought for himself at the medic's remark.

He powered his optic on slowly, feeling still dizzy from the drugs in his systems. Sometimes, the seeker wondered if those drugs were simple medicinal products or if Mixmaster regularly used Hook's patients to test his new chemicals.

" Okay, you are repaired and ready to get slagged again so get the frag out of my medbay already..."

" Hook...You have awful bedside manners" Thundercracker said as he lifted himself from the berth with difficulty. His front felt sore and his joints and gears were still stiff.

" And yet, you always come back!" The medic pushed a small vial into his hand as he stood up completely. " There. Apply this to the weld lines once an orn and there won't be any trace left in a decacycle."

"But...What happened to me?" Thundercracker asked him when he arrived at the door.

" How am I supposed to know? You were hit, it blew your cockpit to pieces but went not deep enough to reach the spark. You've been lucky."

" Who brought me here?"

" Who do you think?"

" Skywarp?" usually it was him. They always saw to each other after a battle, to be sure no one was left behind on the battlefield.

" Yep, Starscream helped him. He owes you or something?"

" Hmm..." Thundercracker made a non-committal sound at first, then finally added: " Yeah, you could say that."

He exited the medbay and checked his chronometer. Good, he still had a few groons ahead of him before the next shift started and he had already decided he would write his report then. Since he wasn't a top officer, it could wait. That left him some time to go to his quarters and relax or get some rest, which was always nice.

It was night time already, so the halls of the sunken ship were very quiet.

Thundercracker reached his deck soon enough despite not walking that fast. He had met no one on his way there. There were two possibilities, he mused: either the battle had been a victory and everyone was celebrating it in the main rec room, wasting the energon they had stolen during the raid and getting overcharged.

Or the battle had been a failure and the Decepticons who weren't severely damaged were in their quarters, moping or resting from the hard orn.

The main rec room wasn't far from his quarters and, at the noise that reached his audios then, Thundercracker deducted it had been a victory orn.

He rounded the corner leading to his aisle...and stepped back the next moment. He flung himself back against the wall, his wings flat behind him, and held his next intake. _Not again!_

Obviously he wasn't expected to be back from the medbay anytime soon.

In the hall, just a few steps away from his quarters, Skywarp held Starscream against the wall and they were kissing passionately.

As arousing as it might be, this was not the kind of sight Thundercracker had wanted to see again.

Hopefully, this time again, they hadn't seen _him_.

After a little while, the blue seeker heard them talk quietly. Then, the Air commander chuckled and said something he didn't quite catch, but it sounded like they were parting for the night at last. He should have been thankful for it. It meant he wouldn't have to find another place to recharge that night.

Thundercracker heard Starscream walk down the hall and when he couldn't hear the sound of his steps anymore, he cycled out the intake he had been holding. He was safe...

" TC? "

...Slag.

He looked up at the sound of surprise. " Hey 'Warp"

" What are you doing here?"

He gulped. The talk he had never wanted to have was now unavoidable.

TBC.

Thank you for reading!

Let me read your thoughts and critiques please.

Should I continue this?

P.S: I was wondering. What kind do you prefer when it comes to Transformers sexy stuff? Sticky, Spark-sex, Plug and play, tactile? Something else maybe?

No need to pm me, just answer in the comment section.


	5. Ch3: Anger

Note on the time measurement:

One breem: 8,3 minutes.

One orn: more or less one day

One groon: more or less one hour.

Klik: a few seconds

Decacycle: more or less one week

Megacycle: more or less one month

Vorn: 83 years

Solar cycle: one year.

Warning for this chapter: Minor violence.

**Chapter 3**

"TC? What are you doing here?" Skywarp frowned.

Frag, Thundercracker froze in dread at the realization he was now cornered. When in this kind of situation, most mechs would either fight or flee. He wasn't a coward and he was still sore from his last fight, so he went for the third, logical choice: Turn the table on his 'adversary'.

" It suits you well to ask that." He growled at his wing mate's face, his naturally deep tone of voice rising in pitch. " care to explain what YOU were doing there?"

Touché! Skywarp's frown morphed into an expression of guilty surprise.

Thundercracker hadn't wanted to have this conversation but there was no more avoiding it now. After all, he needed answers and this was the perfect occasion to get them.

" Not here." was the only warning he got before the world distorted around and inside him. A very uncomfortable molecular displacement later, he was in his and Skywarp's quarters.

He hated teleportation, and more so when it was unnecessary: They could have walked there for Primus' sake!

That only added to his current rage.

He pinned Skywarp with a venomous glare and shoved the teleporter's hand away from his shoulder.

" You didn't seem to mind getting caught when you were making out in the hall with Screamer!" He spat.

Skywarp sighed but remained at the very limit of his personal space, which made the blue seeker ill-at-ease. " You saw."

" Yes I saw and, unfortunately for me, that was not the first thing I saw. I know you are fragging with him." In an attempt to escape, Thundercracker glided along the wall against which he had, once again, been cornered.

His purple friend followed close. " He'd said you should mind your language" he said softly. Obviously, that didn't help Thundercracker calm down.

" The pit if I care!" He hissed, physically pushing Skywarp away. " I find this disgusting!"

"But why?" The other seeker nursed his now-bruised arm, looking genuinely hurt. " we're doing nothing wrong and we..." but his blue look-alike cut him short.

" I saw you that one night, a dozen orns ago. Megatron had decided to change the shifts rooster in the last minute - to relive us from boredom I guess- and as I came back earlier, I found you two there." He pointed at Skywarp's berth. " shagging."

" Making love" Skywarp carefully corrected. " He is more to me than a simple berth warmer, you know..."

Thundercracker sighed loudly and offlined his optics for an astro-second. That had hurt, more than he could have imagined it would, to hear those words.

He didn't even know why it did.

" You are serious about him then?" He asked, the anger subsiding somewhat, giving way to something that felt even worse. "It's not one of his grand scheme he got you involved into?"

"No" Skywarp shock his head slowly.

" But how? Why him?" Thundercracker paced around, agitated. His processor didn't want to compute. To him, their relationship still made no sense and this lack of understanding panicked him a little. " You have always considered him a piece of slag, you used to mock and prank him any chance you got and, as far as I am concerned, you always made it perfectly clear that you despised him."

The teleporter shrugged, watching him with concern. " I don't know...I felt drawn to him...so I just went along with it and he didn't push me away... I don't regret anything. You know, he's very different when you get to know him, to really know him."

Thundercracker couldn't look at him in the face. His optics fell on the berth, the memory played in his mind, as vivid as if it was happening at that very moment. He turned away from it too and chose to focus on the floor. Fatally, as he imagined them, the rage returned. Would he be the one they mocked now? Was he the new ' pain in the aft' of the 'trine'?

" He must be really good then, to make you change your mind so radically." He growled low.

Skywarp didn't respond immediately but the dreamy expression of his face made Thundercracker's tanks churn. He felt sick and empty. Deep down, he knew it was envy and longing eating at him, but he refused the very idea. Nothing on Earth or Cybertron would have made him acknowledge the truth.

The words left his mouth even before he could think them.

" You love him?" It was more a statement than a question and he whispered it out as if he was ashamed to say the words. They tasted alien on his tongue, alien and really sour.

Skywarp observed him, the expression on his face plates just as alien as the question asked. Thundercracker didn't see him move. The next instant, he was flung against the wall and his wing mate was on him.

Registering the fact he was being attacked, he flinched instinctively but didn't have time to brace himself for impact, Skywarp had acted too fast for him to do so. His wings rattled against the wall as a reaction to the collision.

He hissed in pain, then gasped when he felt sneaky fingers close around his wingtips.

" I do" Skywarp rasped. Then, just like that, he kissed him.

Thundercracker froze in shock, forgetting his battle program as well as the very functioning of his processor.

It happened suddenly. Something that had been dormant for a long time, reawakened and took over completely. As Skywarp's lips moved against his, strange sensations and images presented themselves to his consciousness.

What Thundercracker could see was too blurry to recognize. The sensations, though, were very familiar: Flight. He was flying, he could calculate the speed of the wind beating at him, he could feel the rush of air against the fuselage of his jet mode, the absence of floor under his feet.

There was something else too. He was greatly excited, as if chasing something he was certain to catch with a reward, it was very clear what that reward was too and all the same very confusing.

He could hear himself laugh and speed up some more. Was he hunting or was he hunted?

Thundercracker didn't even realize that he was now reciprocating, his tongue gliding with passion against Skywarp's, their mouths burning, while three of his fingers were deep into his friend's hip joint, tweaking sensitive wires.

At some point, though, his logic center rebooted and he was back in the reality of himself and Skywarp moaning in concert, unashamedly. He became aware of what was happening at last and, more than furious, tore his mouth.

All images and sensations of flight vanished immediately.

He hissed low and pushed his wing mate away from him so brutally that said wing mate fell on his aft. Thundercracker pointed a finger at Skywarp, his wings rising high in his back. " Do that again and I tear you apart!" He warned.

Truth be told, he wanted to kill him now, though not knowing why- that kiss wasn't as great an offense as to deserve termination. Go away, he told himself, before you do something stupid.

He ran out of the room as if it had suddenly been filled with poisonous gases. Skywarp blinked a few times, then stood up and ran after him.

OoooOoOooOo

Meanwhile, in the recreation room, Starscream was attending the festivities.

He had shown up late enough to find Megatron overcharged already, which was good: An overcharged Megatron was a generous Megatron, one that was willing to share his finest high grade.

" And then we'll run them into a trash compactor and I'll use their remains to build myself a new, magnificent throne!" The Decepticon leader was laughing darkly, explaining his vision of the future to his officers with much enthusiasm and gestures.

Soundwave, who was sitting to his left, as straight as a steel pole, only nodded from time to time. Starscream, on his right, amused himself with the nonsensical speech of his drunken leader...while helping himself of the warlord's drink.

/ Starscream!/ The trine channel suddenly bused on his comm, filling his head with Skywarp's worried voice.

/ What's wrong?/ He asked. / You should come here, there's unguarded high grade and Megatron is making a fool of himself./

Skywarp ignored it all, surprisingly./ It's TC, he fled and I'm after him, I think he's heading out./

/ What happened?/ Starscream asked, feeling apprehensive. That did sound a lot like impending drama.

/ He knows...I tried to explain things the easy way but he got scared and.../ The tone was clearly sheepish on the other side of the line. Starscream sighed so deeply that Megatron noticed.

/ ' Warp! I thought we had talked about this. You should have called me before doing something stupid/

/ Please, commander, don't berate me about things I did and help me do something about the situation we have to face now!/

" Problem, Starscream?" Megatron asked, voice slurred. He leaned toward his lieutenant, wanting to appear menacing but only looking like he was about to fall off his throne.

" None, oh mighty Megatron. You can go back to your highly poetic depiction of our glorious future. I'm retiring to quarters."

Starscream stood up, wings held high and a smirk on his lips, in a perfect display of arrogance that was all for Megatron's optics.

He knew how much that infuriated his leader.

/ Alright, Sky. Stay on base, I'll bring Thundercracker back./

To be continued.

Author note: Sorry for the delay.

Next chapter will follow soon.


	6. Ch4: Thrill

Author note: Thank you a lot to my readers for their support! ( special thanks to 'Klick' )

Before you start reading this chapter, I'd like to give you some precisions:

In my headcanon, Not all Vosians ( people originating from Vos) are seekers and, although most seekers were created in Vos, not all seekers are Vosian.

In that regard, you have to keep in mind that Vosian culture and Seeker cultures are two different things.

Also, a base program is what we, humans, call 'instinct.'

**Chapter 4.**

Thundercracker took off as soon as the jaws of the raised tower opened wide enough for him to do so.

Physically distancing himself from Skywarp had been his first intent. He could have done so easily enough while staying inside of the 'Victory'. But an irresistible urge to fly had taken him over and, for once without thinking, he had ran out to do just that: Fly.

Soaring through the night sky, he quickly felt much better. Although his inner agitation hadn't ebbed away- far from it actually – now, the feelings he experienced were positive. If not calm, he felt at least free and joyously excited as he pushed his thrusters to full potential.

He almost forgot what had just happened a few breems ago. Then, he reached his top speed and the firm stroke of the cold wind reminded him of the injuries he had acquired during that orn's battle. They stung quite sharply as the speed stressed them.

Not wanting his wounds to re-open, he reduced the power in his thrusters to spare himself the pain. At a more reasonable speed, the sting subsided completely, so he decided to fly for a little while more, cautious to not stray too far from the base.

Less than a klik later, he noticed an echo on his radar. Given its heading and position, the blue seeker deduced that it came from the victory and was coming for him. Annoyed at the disturbance, he switched his comm to a short range frequency and hailed his pursuer.

/ Go away!/ He barked. / I just needed to stretch my wings, I'll be back in a few breems and I don't need an escort!/

There was no reply but the echo on his radar didn't change course.

/ Are you deaf?/ he hailed again, his voice deepening threateningly. / I'm not defecting or leaving if that's what you think. I just want to fly around in peace!/

Not only did the echo keep his course but its speed increased considerably, the blue seeker could read it on his radar.

/ Why won't you quit already?/ He shouted, pushing power to his thrusters once again.

The echo, whomever it was, was still faster than him. Thundercracker sent more energy to his turbines, he knew he needed to do so in order to escape its pursuer, even if it had to hurt. Unavoidably, as he reached top speed again, the very unpleasant sting came back.

After a few nano-seconds, he realized that it wouldn't be enough; He was now flying as fast as he could ever fly and, yet, whomever was after him was still closing in.

No one on the Victory was faster than he was. No one, with the exception of the Air commander himself.

_Wonderful_, he thought, sarcastic, _It's Starscream_.

Maybe, he wondered, if he switched off some minor systems, he could still push some more energy to his thrusters? But would it be sufficient? After all, Starscream was the fastest flier in existence- still hadn't reached his full potential. He had virtually no chance to escape him.

He disconnected his comm along with most of the systems he didn't need at the moment and converged the extra-power to his thrusters.

As he sped off even faster than before- faster than ever- he felt something else than pain. His spark suddenly seemed to swell in his chest and a strangely pleasant warmth spread through his systems.

He laughed, a rich and deep laugh, as he watched the distance grow between Starscream and himself on the radar. He had been annoyed- almost angry even- but his prior emotions vaporized faster than his own fuel

Joyous anticipation replaced them all, it just felt exhilarating, greatly exciting. The bite of the wind turned into a firm-yet tender caress on his frame, the cold of the night was forgotten thanks to the warmth radiating from his spark.

Conflicting desires took over his usual logic and he found himself wanting to be caught just as much as he wanted to escape.

The blue seeker no longer needed his radar to know that Starscream was catching up with him despite his supersonic speed. It was only expected from him, Thundercracker realized he had been subconsciously counting on that while not wanting his pursuer to think he could catch him that easily.

He wanted to present himself as a challenge to his wing leader, to prove that he was skilled enough to impress him.

A sharp pain erupted in his abdomen and only then did he remember his still weak condition.

The voice of reason finally managed to come through, he realized with dread what he had been thinking and felt tremendously stupid all of a sudden.

What came over me? He wondered, his spark still spinning in his chest wildly. He still felt the excitement caused by the 'hunt' and still was somehow expectant.

What he had expected, he admitted to himself, was for Starscream to catch him and...do with him the same thing Starscream had been doing with Skywarp back when he had stumbled on them.

And then, it would have been more than fine if Skywarp joined in. Then they would be like a real trine, like his creators had been.

Having been sparked only shortly before the destruction of Vos, miraculously surviving the disaster but losing his three creators in the process, Thundercracker didn't know much about his fellow seekers' culture. He knew that seekers used to bond in trines (just like his creator did) but was never educated enough in that matter to know why trines existed.

All he knew is that Skywarp, Starscream and himself were part of what they called a 'forced trine'. There was- at least, until now- nothing intimate between them. They had joined because the war had made them and also because there hadn't been many seekers to choose from back then.

As far as he was concerned, Thundercracker hadn't had a say in the matter.

They existed as a 'trine' ( he preferred to call them a 'wing' ) for the sole purpose of fighting their enemies. And they had never wanted it to be otherwise.

Well, Skywarp had seemingly changed his mind, so did Starscream.

But himself? He didn't know anymore.

He safely reduced his speed as the awareness of his physical pain returned and switched his comm , as well as his systems back on.

/ Starscream, wait./ He shouted desperately. / I'll stop.../

He kept reducing his turbines rotations gradually until they came to a full stop. He hovered there, apprehensively waiting for Starscream.

Something wasn't right, he realized, checking himself over for re-opened injuries.

Always when he flew at sonic speed or faster, the friction caused by air displacement charged his outer frame up with static electricity. It was a common, natural phenomenon that didn't affect him at all and which dissipated as soon as he touched down.

This time, however, there was something abnormal: Electric arcs appeared at intervals between pieces of his armor and across his chest.

He was not exactly an engineer or a scientist, but he still could tell that those were not caused by simple static electricity.

He frowned. It didn't hurt, just tingled somewhat pleasantly, but it had never happened to him before.

" Thundercracker!" Starscream was approaching at a slower speed too. He stopped and hovered closer. As the distance between them decreased, the blue seeker felt his spark give a sudden strong pulse, it started spinning even faster, its energies lashed out, making the electric arcs reach out for his wing leader like tendrils.

He squeaked at that and 'stepped' back in mid-air.

" Don't come too close!" He warned Starscream. " something is wrong with me"

But as he looked up, he froze in shock. Starscream seemed to have the exact same problem: Large arcs of electricity danced across his frame, tendrils lashing out toward the blue seeker.

It looked a lot like hands trying grab each other, their spark's hands.

Their charge mingled, pulling them closer. He found it very hard to resist the pull and moaned as a particularly strong pulse, coming from Starscream's spark, brushed against his frame.

" What is happening" He asked, trying to keep a calm composure despite the situation.

The air commander, aside from the blue, glowing tendrils adorning his chest, looked really weird. He was frowning, obviously fighting against the pleasure himself.

It was torture, Thundercracker realized, not to throw himself at his wing leader completely, do all sort of the things to him, then merge with him.

At that very moment, it was all he wanted.

Obviously, Starscream felt the same. But, unlike Thundercracker, he was still aware that the phenomenon affected their free-will. If they allowed this to happen, they would probably regret it afterward.

Starscream knew that he, himself, wouldn't regret a thing. But he wasn't certain as to whether or not Thundercracker felt the same way. He wanted to have a conversation with him first, in a situation into which they wouldn't be affected by the state of their sparks.

It took him tremendous efforts to resist, but the Air commander eventually managed to take the necessary step back, which put him effectively out of range, before it was too late.

Immediately, their spark calmed down and the tendrils retracted completely.

" What happened, what was that?" Thundercracker asked.

" Calm down" Starscream instructed calmly. " Our sparks simply responded to 'the thrill of the chase'. They started rotating on themselves and are now acting like alternators, generating an electric charge. Obviously, there's a difference in potential between your spark and mine, making them reach out one for the other as a simple reaction to opposite polarity."

Thundercracker blinked a bit stupidly. He wasn't a nerd like his commander, he didn't get any of that science talk.

Starscream seemed to understand his confusion and waved his hand dismissively. " Physics...Never mind" He said. " Just release a few sonic booms, do it until your spark stop spinning and then you'll feel better."

That would dissipate the charge and calm his spark.

The blue seeker did as told. It worked and, as his spark gradually calmed down, his sanity returned . It finally hit him.

Thundercracker wasn't a nerd but that didn't mean he was stupid, he could recognize a base program when he saw it – and, in this case, suffered it.

It was unfair, he told himself- and Primus – to be governed such, by a stupid program and the laws of physics.

Thankfully, or not, he wasn't the kind of mech to willingly surrender to a base program. (There was nothing he could do against the laws of physics unfortunately)

When he was back to his normal, non-charged self, he looked at Starscream who stared him from a short distance. " Is it safe now?" The air commander asked.

" I think so." The blue seeker replied, still mentally affected by the recent events but now in full control of his own body's reactions. " Just...don't touch me."

"I won't." Starscream nodded, beckoning his wing mate over.

Thundercracker hesitated a moment, sighed, then flew after his wing leader. They kept a relatively slow place ( barely under the speed of sound) the blue seeker soon realized they weren't heading in the right direction." Aren't we going back to base?" He asked with a small dose of apprehension.

" Not yet." Starscream informed him. " I'm calling Skywarp. We need to talk, all three of us."

" There's nothing to talk about." Thundercracker retorted. "We fell victims to our own programming and the only thing we need to do is get rid of it, so to prevent another incident!"

Starscream stopped so abruptly that the blue seeker almost bumped into him. He banked off just in time to avoid a painful collision.

" That's the problem, you see..." Starscream explained, a strange expression on his- admittedly beautiful- face plates. " I erased my own base program metacycles ago..."

" What?" Thundercracker frowned in incomprehension. " then how?"

" And there's something else" Starscream added carefully. " I ordered Hook to erase both your and Skywarp's program too. I know he did, I was there."

The blue seeker felt more shocked than offended. " But..then" he thought it over. " It means the program re-installed itself..Somehow?"

"No" Starscream shock his head and gave him a light smile- that Thundercracker felt like kissing right then.

" That simply means that we are a real trine."

TBC.

Thank you for reading, please review.

Also, I love pools, so here is a new one for you:

If you had to pair up two seekers out of the 'Elite trine', who would you pick?

1: Skywarp and Thundercracker.

2: Starscream and Thundercracker.

3: Starscream and Skywarp.


	7. Ch5: Knowledge

Warning for this chapter: none.

In this chapter: a loooong but necessary talk, Skywarp being silly, Starscream going out of his way to be as ooc as possible, and a very perturbed TC.

Chapter 5: Knowledge

"A real trine?" Thundercracker repeated, his brows lowering into a confused frown.

They were still hoovering in root mode, two-or-so miles over the ocean's surface, and slowly moving toward a destination only Starscream knew about.

"Yes." Starscream nodded with that same, strange and unnerving smile on his lips, the novelty of which unsettled the blue seeker."You know what it means, right?" But it didn't sound like a question, more like a statement. As if the blue seeker was clearly supposed to know what his wing-leader was talking about.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Thundercracker had but a slightest idea of what a 'real trine' was. He had a rough knowledge of the concept, but didn't know more than its existence. All he had ever known, was that his creators had been one of these 'real trines' and, just like they were, the concept was a thing of the past. The lack of information Thundercracker processed on the topic made him ill-at-ease in front of his wing-leader.

Dealing with Starscream had never been something he was fond of; the Air commander had never relinquished a victory in their past disagreements. He was always the smartest, the most determinate to win the battle of argument. And whenever it came to a point he no longer had words to fight with, his claws were still fiercer than Thundercracker's own.

And right now, the blue seeker knew he was even more at a disadvantage: Starscream had a far better knowledge of the subject at hand than Thundercracker himself did. It wasn't good at all.

Whenever a fight wasn't about physical force, it was always the level of knowledge of its participants that dictated the issue of the argument. It hadn't started yet, and Thundercracker was the loser of this fight already.

He chose to keep his attitude defensive, even if the situation didn't call for a fight. Not yet, at least, but being safe was always better than being sorry.

Wanting to keep his obvious lack of knowledge hidden from his potential adversary, Thundercracker refrained from giving the Air commander a spoken reply. He only nodded briefly, hoping this would satisfy Starscream.

"TC?" Starscream tilted his head on the side. Of course, he wasn't satisfied by the simple gesture." You know what a real trine is, right?" He repeated his question, now with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Of course, I know." Thundercracker huffed, looking away from his commander. "I was sparked by one."

"You never told me about your creators" Starscream stated, his smile turning curious. " Who were they?"

"You never showed the slightest interest in me or my past before today." Thundercracker looked back at him, keeping his expression cold as his optics dimmed in annoyance. At the aggressive-passive words of his wing mate, Starscream's smile flattened a little.

This was better, Thundercracker though. He now felt like the proverbial ball was in on his side of the field again. "Why should I disclose such information to you now?"

Starscream hoovered a bit closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, a bit too low for the blue seeker's liking. "Because, I didn't know we were a real trine before."

"That's because we never were one!" Thundercracker shrugged the unwanted hand away. "And you know it as well as I do: we were placed in a trine back at the war academy, because we were the only un-trined seekers left! We are, have always been and will ever be, a fake-forced-trine!"

Starscream watched his face closely. His smile was now gone, replaced by a blank look of calculating seriousness. At some point, he seemed to falter. He sighed and turned his gaze elsewhere. Thundercracker realized he was about to be further prompted or even lectured and didn't want to hear it. He felt like knocking Starscream out here and there, then escape all this.

But what Starscream said, then, made him temporarily forget his desire of desertion.

"You have lost your creators at a young age, didn't you?" This, again, was less a question than a plain statement. This time, though, at the mention of creators he never had the chance to know, Thundercracker did falter. His cold expression turned pained for a nano-klik, but he quickly recomposed himself.

"Why would you care?" He snorted, his expression hardening to marble coldness. "You probably didn't even know them"

"They had an accident." The Air commander voiced carefully, deducing what he thought was the most probable truth. "They died and you were raised by people who weren't seekers...One of your creators' friend, perhaps?"

_Cosmotrailer._ Thundercracker was shocked by his wing leader perspicacity, and the name of his old caretaker and mentor came to mind automatically, his face displaying fondness despite himself as memories flooded his processor. Cosmotrailer had been his Sire-creator's friend and colleague at Vos' medcenter. After his creators died in the fire that ravaged the facility, the old shuttlemech had taken the still too young Thundercracker in. Cosmotrailer wasn't a seeker, but he still took care of him like he would have had, if blue seeker had been his own creation.

He was about to tell all this to Starscream, but caught himself before even one word could escape his vocalizer. Resolutely stubborn, he shut his mouth tight.

Why should he give that away? Starscream had no right to know such an intimate element of his life. His memories was all he had left of his creators and old mentor, he didn't want to share them, they belonged only to him.

"Why should I tell you ?" He frowned, his optics sharp and his wings rising high in defiance. " You have no right to know about my past! We're not family, we're not even _friends_!" He retorted angrily, not liking how easily the Air commander had _almost_ taken control of the conversation.

"Alright." Starscream said softly. "I won't ask you again. You'll tell me later, when and if you feel like it."

"I won't tell you slag, Starscream! Why would I ever want to?" Thundercracker imposed himself in Starscream's personal space, puffing his chest and spreading his wings wide and high in a threatening display.

Starscream immediately responded in kind. His wings perked up, spreading outward against his back as he bared his fangs. His chest vents reeved noisily and his bulk suddenly seemed to expand. He made up for quite intimidating a vision like this. Although Thundercracker was naturally slightly taller and thicker than his Air commander was, his own display wasn't quite as impressive.

It lacked the strong aura of authority and charisma only Starscream possessed.

Driven by eons-old genetic codes and instinctive reactions, Thundercracker stepped back and lowered his wings, subconsciously and physically recognizing the other's superiority. He did so without even thinking. Of course he didn't want to admit this defeat, even if he had already surrendered.

These codes, he thought, were exactly what he didn't need in his life.

"Thundercracker, answer me frankly now." Starscream demanded, aware that he would get his wing mate's confession now . " Do you know what a real trine is?"

"No" The blue seeker rasped, as if the mere admission physically hurt him.

"Let's wait for Skywarp!" Starscream patted his shoulder in a non-condescending gesture. " We'll explain you what it is all about." He saw- and felt- the blue seeker's reluctance to go through this, so, and before his wing mate could complain, he added:

"Even if you don't want to acknowledge or respond to the 'pull' yet, you still are a seeker. You will have reactions and needs, and you won't understand them if you are not properly educated in the particularity of your frame-type coding and biology."

Sweet, heed the sound of an impending science-talk coming! Thundercracker thought for himself sarcastically. The desire to fly away was strong in his spark. But curiosity overwhelmed it. Starscream had mentioned something about a 'pull'. He had no idea what it was but it worried him already. Cosmotrailer hadn't known a thing about seekers, and so, hadn't been able to instruct Thundercracker in the History and particularities of his frame-kin.

He didn't want to die ignorant.

Also, a little mischievous voice in his head reminded him that he was very curious about Starscream and Skywarp's strange ( and uncalled for) relationship. Despite being aware that it was not his business, he still wanted an explanationon the 'how' and the 'why' of their little affair.

This would probably be his only chance to have it.

ooo

When Skywarp finally rejoined them, he looked quite sheepish and smelled of high-grade.

"I'm sorry...Megatron wanted to dance." He explained, as if that were a good excuse to explain his delay.

"And I missed this!" Starscream groaned, looking genuinely disappointed.

"Don't fret!" Skywarp chuckled. "I saved a video file, just for your pretty optics!"

Starscream beamed at that, and the sight of him doing so shocked the blue seeker. His wing leader never beamed like, except on the few-and far between-occurrences in which he got to replace Megatron as a leader. ( the beaming increased exponentially with the warlord's degree of incapacitation)

Thundercracker felt terribly awkward at the other two's behavior, and for more than a reason too. First, Skywarp's 'attack' on his person was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want the purple seeker too close to him right now. Secondly, and that was the main cause of his discomfort, it was the first time he got to see his wing-mates acting like this with each other.

A few meta-cycles ago only, it had been about 'a stupid processor-deprived prankster' and an 'insufferable pain-in-the-aft Air-commander', respectively Starscream and Skywarp's depictions of each other. And it had never been about pretty optics, caring attentions and loving- beaming! - smiles. The contrast was too stark and too sudden for Thundercracker to just accept as normal.

"Hey TC!" Skywarp greeted him, his expression remorseful. "Sorry about earlier...I couldn't resist."

"I'd rather we don't talk about this." The blue seeker retorted, his tone flat but not hard. He really was uncomfortable with that particular topic.

"Okay...Sorry still." Skywarp said.

"Forgiven." Thundercracker conceded. " Can we go back to the topic at hand?" He said, turning toward Starscream.

"Certainly..." Starscream replied. "But let's get comfortable first! I'm leading you to a dry creek where we'll be able to sit down and talk without burning more fuel in the process."

Thundercracker looked ahead of them and realized how close they were: He could see the aforementioned piece of land in his visual already.

A breem later, they had landed and were comfortably installed on a quiet shingle beach, seated at a respectable and professional distance from each other; Skywarp and Starscream being conspicuously closer to each other than Thundercracker was from any of them.

This, Thundercracker noted with a sort of irony-driven awe, was the first time the three of them met outside of training, briefing or battle.

"Are we here for what I think we're here for?" Skywarp asked excitedly, appearing clearly hopeful to the attentive blue seeker.

"No, Skywarp, not yet." Starscream said calmly. "We're here to talk."

"Talk? 'bout what?" Skywarp's asked, disappointed. His wings slumped down and his general dejected-frustrated expression almost made the blue seeker think he was cute.

Almost, because he was still a rude imbecile Thundercracker hadn't completely forgiven yet.

"How would you explain what a real trine is?" Starscream asked the purple seeker. The air commander had a long history for being a lying traitor who was incapable of honesty. Skywarp and Thundercracker, on the other hand, shared something akin to friendship. It appeared logical to Starscream that Thundercracker would trust the purple seeker for telling the truth, or at least was more likely to.

"Three seekers together, duh!" Skywarp replied, shrugging. Starscream had to pinch the bridge of his nose after that fabulously idiotic statement; and even Thundercracker allowed himself a light smile.

"And why do they get together in a trine?" Starscream asked again, talking slowly and patiently like one does when was addressing a youngling or a mentally-defective mech.

"Well, you see, when three seekers love each others very very much..." Skywarp started on while grinning false-embarrassingly at his blue wing mate. It was quite obvious that he refused to take any of this seriously, and Starscream wanted to strangle the idiocy out of him now. Almost did too when Skywarp ran his mouth further with no caution whatsoever.

"Why are you asking me those stupid questions, Screamer?! Really...Everybody know that!"

" Skywarp, for the love of Primus, will you try being serious for a nano-klik! ( and stop calling me that!)" Starscream said through clenched teeth, his tone of voice and attitude spelling impending doom for the purple seeker.

" Skywarp, please." Thundercracker intervened calmly. " This is not funny...And I would like to know the answer to Starscream's question."

The purple seeker looked at him, surprised. " Why? Don't you already know the answer."

" Actually, no, I don't!" Thundercracker confessed, keeping his face blank. His optics looked serious enough for Skywarp to believe his admission.

The warper opened his mouth to comment on his friend's confession, but Starscream moved faster than he spoke and physically placed himself between the two others, effectively cutting the prankster before he could say anything. The air commander didn't want to let Skywarp chase Thundercracker away with too-personal questions.

" I will answer, since Skywarp isn't willing to do so simply and without making a fool of himself." The wing leader interjected, casting a disappointed look toward said fool.

Thundercracker nodded and Skywarp crossed his arms over his chest childishly, his lips pursing into a ridiculous, yet adorable-looking pout.

Starscream purposefully ignored him and focused on the blue seeker as he started talking.

"Back when Vos was still standing, seekers- unlike most cybertronians- used to bond in trines. There was nothing weird or abnormal to that, there was a good reason behind this.

"Make babies!" Skywarp chimed in. Starscream calmly extended a hand, splayed it on the teleporter's face, and pushed him away.

"What he said." The air commander resumed his explanation. "A seeker's spark is naturally less fertile than that of most cybertronians, and thus, needs more residual energy out of a spark-merge to create a newspark."

"So this is why they merge in trine?" Thundercracker realized, nodding in understanding as the explanation made sense. " Three sparks merging together create more residual energy than two. It is done purely for reproduction purpose."

"At first, yes." Starscream replied. "At first, it was merely practical. But then, the customs have evolved and the fact seekers bonded in trine became a common and cultural trait among our frame-kin. It became normal, traditional even. A couple of seekers who wouldn't have wanted a third mate, they would have appeared like the odd ones."

Thundercracker nodded again, visibly interested in his wing-leader explanations. He felt happy to finally be told all these things Cosmotrailer hadn't be able to explain him in, back when the blue seeker had been under the old shuttlemech's care.

"Thank you for the bout of History, Starscream.." He said, genuinely thankful. "But I'm not sure the war is a good time to produce newsparks...And, to be honest, I don't want to have sparklings...Not before a long time at least..."

Both Starscream and Skywarp stared at him, optics wides and mouth agape, then they burst out laughing in concert loudly in. The purple seeker even crawled up to his blue counterpart and embraced him. "that's a very good one, TC!" He declared, still laughing. " I'm definitely stealing it for my quote book!"

While feeling quite offended by their reaction, Thundercracker decided not to let it get to him. Also, when he shoved Skywarp away from him, he tried not to be too rough about it.

" You misinterpreted it" Starscream was still chuckling when he shook his head lightly in fake disapprobation. Mirth made his optics glow two shades brighter, and they looked quite stunning in contrast with his charcoal face. " Trine-bonding is not only about sparklings"

Thundercracker felt abruptly and undeniably drawn to him all a sudden, drawn to how beautiful and to how positively different he appeared then. He couldn't help but notice how pleasant his Air commander's usually unbearable voice sounded as he spoke to him. He sounded calm, strong and, as strange as it happened to be, the blue seeker realized that he felt strangely, yet reassuringly, safe in the Air-commander's presence.

His ever-calculating logic center activated, analyzing the blue seeker's emotions with suspicious attention. Remain cautious, he warned him, the mech you are finding so attractive is highly unreliable. He's a notorious liar, a proven backstabber and you, my dear, are not interested in him, no! no! You are merely influenced by your genetic programming.

" What else is it about then?" Thundercracker inquired, emerging from his inner thoughts and reveries.

" The 'Pull' is what it is all about!" Starscream declared.

" What is a 'pull'?" Thundercracker asked, frowning.

" It is what happened to us today. You know, the physical phenomenon we encountered earlier." The red and white seeker precised.

" The electricity? The sudden mechanical attraction?"

"Actually, it is an instinctual attraction." Skywarp, who had been silent for far too long and couldn't take it anymore, blurted in. "It happens when a seeker's spark finds a suitable trine-mate...And although the 'pull' happens to all cybertronians, it is more perceivable for seekers "

" Yes, well, that's the romantic version." Starscream looked at his purple mate with a fond smile. " In truth, it is about binary codes, genes compatibility and a bunch of probability calculation." he added. " In essence, our spark is our very self, but is much more perceptive than our processor! Our spark knows what we need, what we like and what we seek in other individuals."

"But what about free-will?" Thundercracker asked. "This 'pull'- thing sounds a lot like something one cannot control."

"You know, attraction is never a conscious thing." Skywarp remarked. "falling in love is harder than falling on the knees!" he quoted Steven tyler, hoping to make an impression with what he thought was a very poetic message.

Starscream quirked a bow at that, then he smiled and nodded his general approval of this explanation. "One seldom chooses to be attracted by someone." he added with yet another of his mysterious and beautiful smile.

"One meets another and feels attracted, seemingly for no explainable reason. Sometimes, their attentions are not wanted. It hurts but they move on... That's how it works, and it is not different for us...A seeker can resist and deny the pull if they really don't want to be with whomever they fell pulled toward. The pull eventually subsides then."

This, Thundercracker decided, sounded fair enough. It reassured him greatly to know that he wasn't completely a slave to his own programing. He still had a say in the matter, a choice he could make.

Starscream smiled at him, waiting for him to comment on what had been said. Thundercracker wondered what he could say or ask. Something still bugged him; Why now? Why hadn't this 'pull' thing happened before? After all, they had been together for a long time, and nothing had happened before he stumbled on Skywarp and Starscream being 'busy' with each other.

That made him wonder if what he felt since then really was the 'pull', or if it was a normal reaction to being left out. What were the odds of three seekers forced together finding out they were meant for each other after all? Perhaps Skywarp and Starscream were meant for each other and Thundercracker wasn't really meant for them.

He wasn't ready to acknowledge a fake phenomenon as true.

Keeping his musings a secret, Thundercracker forced himself not to look at Starscream's smile. Instead, he asked the question that had been burning his lips for orns. "Is that how it happened for you two? You felt the pull and submitted to it?" Not that he was curious- or only so slightly - but maybe his wing-mates' experience would better explain how that mysterious 'pull' worked. And then, Thundercracker would see if he could relate to it or not.

" Oh! Can I tell him, Star? can I?" Skywarp joined his hands in a pleading gesture. " Pretty please!"

" Alright, speak if you cannot keep your mouth shut for more than five kliks!" Starscream faked annoyance, but his tone was light and his smile, as he looked at the purple mech, was more than a little fond.

That kind of scene, Thundercracker mused, was one he couldn't possibly become familiar with. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted to either.

In all truth, he couldn't explain why. Too many cons, not enough pros, most probably. But, in the same time, he still felt curious about the pull and how it could be for the three of them if it was real.

Would he accept to obey his desires then?

Later, he promised himself, he would decide later, when he'll be certain the pull existed for him.

The powerful, yet calm, sounds of the ocean, not far from them, had gradually soothed him. He felt far less angry than he had been earlier when Starscream had been too curious about his past.

The night was clear and not too warm and there was just the perfect little breeze that, provided he turned his body the right way, teased his wing-flaps pleasantly. It was like an impromptu and welcomed massage, it felt quite nice.

Starscream's and Skywarp's innocent little quarrels amused him greatly even though he felt a tad jealous to be an outsider to them. It was still nice to be with them like this, there, then. Thundercracker felt good, relaxed, he felt at home.

With a small smile, he waited for Skywarp to start his story, which, the blue seeker was certain, would be quite the colorful tale.

**TBC**

Thank you for reading and sorry about this little cliffie: This chapter was getting way too long and I didn't want it to be much longer than the previous ones. Also, sorry for the lack of anything that isn't a long-boring-talk.

Now, and to wrap it up, have another meme-thingy! You know how much I love them ( fill it please! I'll submit my own along with the next chapter)

**Transformers Ship ( pairing) meme!**

**What is your favorite ship? ( Het ships are, of course, allowed!)**

**What made you ship them?**

**Is your ship sailing? ( is it ambiguous in canon?)**

**You love fanfics in which they...( fill in the blank)**

**You can't stand fanfics in which they...( fill in the blank)**

**Any kink for them you'd like to share with us? ( optional)**

Thank you in advance!


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